Game apparatus



March 5, 1940. w. H. BUTT ERWORTH GAME APPARATUS Filed Oct. 21

Willow/1? IY ggg ggl/m H15 ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 5, 1940 UNITED STATES GAME APPARATUS Willoughby H.Butterworth, Chicago, 111., assignor to The Exhibit Supply Company,Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application October 21, 1938,Serial No. 236,214

9 Claims.

This invention pertains to improvements in game apparatus, particularlythat type employing missiles, such as balls and the like, adapted to bedelivered onto a playfield from a storage position, the improvementsrelating particularly to the provision of mechanism for raising balls orsimilar elements from a lower to a higher level in game apparatus andthe like and expelling the balls with a desired degree of force onto theplayfield. I

Stated more particularly, it is an important object of the invention toprovide an improved ball elevating and pitching device for use with gameapparatus of the bagatelle type, the device being adapted for manualcontrol to raise balls one at a time from a position beneath a playboardand expel them onto the board.

Another object is the provision of an elevating and pitching meansarranged beneath an opening in the playboard of a baseball game forpivotal movement to project a ball carrier up through said opening andexpel a ball onto the playboard, there being electromagnetic meansincluding a solenoid arranged in a particular manner to eifectoscillatory movement of the elevator.

Another object is the provision of a yeldable closure for the openingthrough which the pitcher projects, the closure being operated by theelevator in its back and forth or oscillatory movement.

Another object is the provision of an elevator in the form of a pivotedarm having an arcuate extension radial to the pivotal mounting of thearm with a ball seat formed in an upper end of the arcuate projection,and means including a solenoid and spring connecting the solenoidplunger to the pivoted arm so as to swing the arm upwardly to projectthe ball seat and ball thereon against the flexible closure and expelthe ball onto the playboard, the lower portions of the arcuateprojection constituting a blocking means for other balls below theboard.

Still another object is the provision of novel control means for theelectromagnetic actuating mechanism, said control means including amanual switch, a relay switch, and a supervisory switch which isoperated by the elevator, all connected in the manner hereinafter setforth to provide a manually controlled, electrically powered elevatingmeans.

Other objects and novel aspects of the invention reside in certaindetails of construction and operation of the device hereinafter to bedescribed, including the arrangement of a ball de- ;livery runwaycooperable with the elevator, su-

pervisory switch means operated by the elevator, and a yieldable closureoperated by the elevator, all of which will appear more fully as'thespecification proceeds in view of the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective looking down beneath the playboardof a game apparatus employing theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a fragmentary portion of the gameapparatus and elevat ing means; while Fig. 3 is a circuit diagram.

The present invention, while not limited to such application, isparticularly useful in conjunction with bagatelle games and the like inwhich balls or similar projectiles are raised-one. by one from aposition beneath a playboard for delivery or expulsion out onto theplayboard, the balls generally being circulated and returned from theplayboard to be fed into the elevator means therebelow. J

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 1 for purposes of illustration, thereis included a playboard l0 having an oblong exit opening H cut thereinand communicating with a lower compartment in which is disposed aninclined ball return runway IZadapted to receive balls from theplayboard in a manner well known in the art and therefore not describedin detail herein. In the present" arrangement, a plurality of balls l3are disposed in serialalignment in the runway l2, the lower end I4 ofthe latter being open at a position opposite the ball seat in the novelelevating device.

The elevating device includes an elevating arm [5 pivotally attached asat is between a pair of bracket arms ll secured to the under side of theboard l0.

The arm I5 has an arcuate member I!) secured to its free end portion bymeans such as the bracing arms l9, and preferably by means of spotwelding or soldering in the region 2b where the arcuate member bearsagainst the end of the elevating arm.

The upper extremity of the arcuate projection I8 is bent over anddeformed to provide a ball seat 2! into which one of the balls l3gravitates from the runway l2 when the elevator arm is in normallylowered position, as seen in Fig. 1.

Means for moving the elevator arm back and forth includes anelectromagnetic device in the form of a solenoid 22 secured to the underside of the board It? and having its plunger 23 connected to one end ofa spring 24, the opposite end of the spring being attached to an ear 25on the elevator arm adjacent its pivotal mountnig 16. It is important toobserve, particularly in Fig.

2, that the mounting of the elevator arm l5 with relation to thereciprocable plunger 23 of the solenoid is such that the elevator armwill normally be lowered so as to effect a retraction of the plunger 23through the agency of the connecting spring 24. This arrangement,moreover, is particularly designed so that the initial swing of theelevator arm will be a minimum, responsive to the initial inward orattracted movement of the plunger 23. Therefore, to achieve the twoforegoing objects, namely, the normal positioning of the plunger 23 andthe slow initial movement of the elevator when the solenoid isenergized, the solenoid is mounted so that its plunger will reciprocatein a direction substantially transverse to the pivotal axis of theelevator, the plunger being so positioned that the connecting meansbetween the same and the elevator extends in a tangential sense relativeto the pivotal axis of the elevator when the latter is in normallylowered position. This is particularly illustrated in Fig. 2.

Means constituting an automatic closure for the ball exit opening I!includes a substantially flat and elongated flap or closure 38,preferably of spring metal or some resiliently yieldable material, suchas Celluloid or the like, secured at one end 3| by any suitable means,for example cementing, to the upper side of the playboard ID at one endof the opening H opposite the pivotal mounting Iii-l1 of the elevator.

The operation of the device is such that when the solenoid 22 isenergized, the arm I5 is swung up into the dotted line position shown inFig. 2 with the curved portion of the arcuate arm or projection adjacentthe ball seat 2| riding against the under side of the closure 30 to flexthe latter into raised dotted line position, so that a ball l3 carriedin the seat 2] may pitch onto the board I U substantially asillustrated.

It is important to observe during the foregoing operation of theelevator that the lower arcuate end portion 32 of the arm I8 ispositioned before the mouth l4 of the runway l2 so long as the elevatorremains in raised position, thus blocking the remaining balls againstgravitating movement out of the runway. As soon as the elevator islowered, the lead ball in the runway l2 will gravitate into the seat 2|.

Control means for manual operation of the novel pitching and elevatingmechanism includes a manual switch 36-40 conveniently mounted in a wallof the cabinet for operation by a push button or plunger 35 and arrangedin circuit with the solenoid 22 in the manner illustrated in Fig.

3, wherein one contact 35 is connected to one I contact 31 of a masterball control switch which has a companion contact 38 connected viaconductor 39' to one side of a battery 39, the other contact 40 of themanual switch being connected by conductor 4| to one side of the relaywinding 42. The opposite side of the relay winding is connected viaconductor 43 to one contact 44 of conductor 46 to the return side of thebattery 39. Thus, when the push button 35 is operated to close thecontacts 36-40, the relay winding 42 is energized from the battery 39,provided the normally closed supervisory switch 44-45 is closed, whichit will be if the elevator is not raised, and provided the master switchis closed by a ball on the elevator.

The master switch may be of the leaf spring variety and is mounted on astrap 55 attached as at 56 to the bottom edge portions of a pair ofparallel vertical plates 51 secured to the under side of the playboardso as to form a well in which the elevator oscillates. An operating pin58 projects from the contact 37 of the master switch (which, it ispointed out, is stationary relative to the elevator) and is positionedto project through an opening in the ball seat 2! for engagement by aball in the seat to close the master switch, and condition the apparatusfor operation by the manual switch.

When the relay win-ding 42 is energized as aforesaid, the relay contact4! thereof, which is connected by conductor 48 to one side of thebattery 39, engages the companion relay contact 49 to close a circuitvia conductor 50 to one side of the solenoid winding 22, the oppositeside of this winding connecting by conductor 5| with conductor 56 to thereturn side of the battery. Thus, energization of the relay 42 connectsthe main electromagnetic operating means or solenoid means 22 withbattery, thus causing the plunger 23 to be attracted with a resultingupward swing of the elevator arm l5 in the manner and for the purposeheretofore set forth.

It should be observed that when the relay contacts 41-49 are engaged,they close a locking circuit through the winding 42 of the relay and thewinding of the solenoid 22, so that both the relay and the solenoidwould remain energized unless the circuit were broken by some externalagency other than the manual control switch. The supervisory switch 4445constitutes such an agency, the contact being engaged by the elevatorarm I5 as the latter approaches fully raised position to break thelocked circuit by separating contacts 44 and 45, which results in therelease of the relay and falling back of the contact 4! thereof, theelevator thereupon descending to normally lowered position to receiveanother ball from the runway I 2, and to retract the solenoid plunger23.

It will be apparent that the device of the invention may be used as aball elevator to position a ball before some form of projectingmechanism, or the device may be employed to pitch the balls onto theplayboard, as for example in pitching balls one at a time to a battingdevice in a baseball game.

Where the device is used as a pitching or projecting means, the solenoidis designed to impart a somewhat greater throw to the elevator arm thanin the case where the balls are simply expelled onto the board.

In either case, attention is called to the fact that the arrangement ofthe arm and solenoid is such that the initial movement of the elevatingarm is relatively slower than its final movement, so that the ball isalways expelled onto the board with a positive motion.

The objects and advantages of the invention may be achieved by variousmodifications in the specific embodiment set forth herein for purposesof illustration, and it is to be understood that all such modificationsand all equivalent arrangements of the specified embodiment are to bein- 2,192,608 cluded within the call of the appended claims,

the same to be interpreted in their broadest aspectin view of the art. I

Having thus described my invention, what I 7 claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is: t

1. Ball elevating means for use with pin ball and similar game apparatushaving a playboard, said elevating means including an elevating armpivotally mounted below said board for movement toward and away from thelatter, said arm having a ball seat radial of its pivotal axis, asolenoid of said plunger withsaid elevating arm at a point between saidball seat and the pivotal axis thereof, said solenoid being energizableto effect raising movement of said arm, means for feeding balls one at atime into said ball seat when said arm is lowered, a relay and manuallyoperable switch means arranged in circuit with said relay, said relayincluding a relay switch operable by energization of said relay toeffect energization of said solenoid, said relay switch being arrangedin a locking circuit with said relay to maintain the latter in energizedcondition, together with supervisory switch means arranged for operationby said elevating arm as the latter moves toward raised position todeenergize said solenoid and relay for restoration to normal condition.

2. Ball elevating means for use with pinball and similar game apparatushaving a playboard, said elevating means including an elevating armpivotally mounted belowsaid board for movement toward and away from thelatter, said arm having a ball seat radial of its pivotal axis and anarcuate projection substantially radial to said axis at said free endthereof, a solenoid having a plunger arranged for movement in adirection transverse to said axis, said playboard having an exit openingformed therein and said arm being pivotable to project said ball seat upthrough said opening, said arm normally gravitating into loweredposition relative to said opening, an elongated link member connectingan end of said plunger with said elevating arm at a point between saidball seat and the pivotal axis thereof, said solenoid being energizableto efiect raising movement of said arm, means for feeding balls one at atime into said ball seat when said arm is lowered, a relay and manuallyoperable switch means arranged in circuit with said relay, said relayincluding a relay switch operable by energization of said relay toefiect energization of said solenoid, said relay switch being arrangedin a looking circuit with said relay to maintain the latter in energizedcondition, together with supervisory switch means arranged for operationby said elevating arm as the latter moves toward raised position todeenergizesaid solenoid and relay for restoration to normal condition,said arcuate projection being positioned by said elevating arm, when thelatter is in raised position, to block movement of balls from saidfeeding means.

3. In a game apparatus, a ball pitching device in the form of an armhaving a ball seat in one end and mounted at its opposite end forpivotal movement in a vertical plane so as to pitch a ball therefromwhen in substantially raised position, electrical means for pivotingsaid arm from normally lowered to raised position, control meansincluding a power circuit for said electrical means, a normally closedsupervisory switch in circuit with said electrical means and arranged tobe opened by said ball pitching device when said arm moves into raisedposition, electrically operable switch means in said power circuit andarranged when energized to provide a locking circuit for energizing saidelectrical means from said power source, manually operable switch meansforeffecting energization of said electrically operable switch means,and a normally open master switch'in circuit with said electricallyoperable switch means and arranged in fixed position relative to saidpitching device, said master switch having an operating member arrangedin said ball-seat for operation by a ball in the latter whensaid arm isin lowered position to close the master switch and render saidelectrically operable switch means operable by said manually operableswitch means. i

4. In a device of the class described, a ball moving device having aballseat and arranged for movement from a normally lowered to raisedposition to raise a ball in said seat and effect dislodgement of thesame therefrom, electrical means for efiecting movement of said memberinto raised position, a control circuit including a relay having aswitch connected in circuit with said electrical means, said relay beingconnected in said circuit such that energization of the relay willeffect a locking circuitfor energizing said electrical means, a manuallyoperable switch and .a master switch connected in circuit with saidrelay, said master switch being normally open and having an operatingmember arranged to projectinto said ball seat for operation by a ball inthe latter when said arm is in lowered position to render said manuallyoperable switch effective to energize said relayjand switch meansarranged in circuit with saidrelay and mounted for operation by said armwhen the latter moves into raised position to open said locking circuit.

'5. In a game apparatus, an electrical ball elevating device arrangedfor movement from a normally lowered to a raised position, said devicehaving a ball seat arranged to receive a ball when said elevating deviceis in lowered position, and a control circuit for said elevating deviceincluding a relay having a Winding and a relay switch connected incircuit with said electrical elevating device such that energization ofthe relay winding will actuate said relay switch to establish a. lookingcircuit for energizing said electrical elevat-' ing device, manuallyoperable switch means for energizing said relay winding, a normally openmaster switch in circuit with said manually operable switch means, saidmaster switch being mounted near said elevating device and having anoperating member arranged to project in said ball seat when said deviceis in normally lowered position for engagement by a ball in said seat toclose said master switch and render said relay winding energizable bysaid manual switch, I

. and supervisory switch means in circuit with said electrical elevatingdevice and arranged for operation by the latter when the same is in ballelevating position to open said locking circuit.

6. A ball elevating device including an arm with a ball seat thereon andmeanspivoting said arm for movement in a substantially vertical plane,said arm being disposed by gravity in a normally lowered position toreceive a ball in said seat and movable into substantially raisedposition to elevate said ball, and means for raising said armandincluding an elongated tractile spring secured at one end to said arm ata point thereon between said seat and the pivotal mounting of the armand closer to said pivotal mounting than the seat, and mechanismoperatively connected with the opposite end of said spring fortensioning the same by pulling the spring substantially in the directionof the length of said arm toward said pivotal mounting.

7. In a ball pitching mechanism including a pivoted ball projecting arm,arm pivoting mechanism including an elongated coil spring attached tosaid arm at a point thereon disposed radially of the pivotal axis of thearm, and means operatively connected to the opposite end of the springfor exerting a pulling on the latter in a direction transversely of saidpivotal axis away from the opposite end of the spring, whereby theinitial turning moment of said arm will be less than the subsequentturning moment thereof after the arm has been moved a predetermineddistance away from a normal position by action of said spring, said armbeing arranged and constructed for disposition in a normal position inwhich the arm and spring extend in approximately parallel vating armpivoted for movement from lowered to raised position to elevate a ball,means re mote from the pivotal axis of said arm providing a ball seat, aswitch carried by said arm, and switch operating means 'operativelyconnected with said switch and including a member projecting into saidseat for engagement by a ball therein to operate said switch, saidswitch being adapted for connection in a circuit to be controlled inaccordance with the presence or absence of 'a ball in said seat.

9. In an amusement apparatus including a ball elevating device andelectromagnetic means for moving the same from a lowered to raisedposition to elevate a ball, a control circuit including a manuallyoperable switch arranged to actuate a relay, switch means operated bysaid relay to close a locking circuit for the relay to hold the latterenergized and also to close and maintain a power circuit connection tosaid electromagnetic means, whereby to effect elevating movement of saidarm, and switch means arranged for operation by said arm when the latterreaches a predetermined'elevated position to open said locking circuitfor the relay and effect denergization of said first-mentionedelectromagnetic means.

WILLOUGHBY I-I. BUTTERWORTH.

